Property tax in Salem city, Virginia

Who sends the property tax bill in Salem city, and how do you pay it?

The bill comes from the City of Salem Treasurer. The value it is based on is set by a separate office, the City of Salem Real Estate Department (Department of Real Estate Valuation), which is who to ask if the value looks wrong. For how to look up and pay the bill, go to the county's own payment information.

Salem is an independent city, so the city bill is the only local real estate tax bill; no county bill comes on top of it. The city values property every year as of January 1, but the new value is not used for tax until the fiscal year that begins July 1, which is why the December bill is the first half of the year and the June bill the second. The Real Estate Department values property and hears the first appeal; the Treasurer sends the bills and collects. Online payments carry no convenience fee, and returned checks are charged $40.

When are property taxes due in Salem city?

For the 2026 Fiscal Year bill, Salem city splits the bill into 2 payments, the first due December 5, 2026 and the last June 5, 2027. An installment not paid by its due date carries a penalty of 10% of the tax or $10, whichever is greater (never more than the tax itself), and the penalty becomes part of the tax. Interest of 10% a year is charged on the unpaid tax and penalty; city code starts interest on the date general law allows, and state law lets it start no earlier than the day after the due date. A card payment that is declined and not replaced by the due date also accrues penalty, interest and collection fees.

From Salem city's published schedule, checked September 23, 2026. If a date falls on a weekend or holiday, the county's own rules on the next business day apply.

Estimate the property tax on a home in Salem city

Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Salem city's average effective rate of 0.9% (Census). The real bill depends on the home's assessed value, the millage where it sits and any exemptions.

Property tax in Salem city at a glance

Effective rate = median real estate taxes paid divided by median home value. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates.

How does Salem city compare in Virginia?

Among Virginia's 133 counties, Salem city has the 17th highest effective property-tax rate: 16 rank higher and 116 rank lower. That places it among the most heavily taxed counties in the state. Nationally, it ranks 1365th of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every Virginia county ranked.

How much do homeowners in Salem city actually pay?

The median is only the middle bill. Across Salem city's 6,441 owner-occupied homes, 26.4% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 57.3% pay at least $2,000, and 9.2% pay under $800. Another 5% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.

Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $2,212 and owners without one pay $2,463. Here the owners without a mortgage pay more, which can happen where long-held homes sit in the higher-value parts of the county. Census table B25103.

How does the Salem city property tax bill compare with local incomes?

The median property tax bill of $2,316 is about 2.5% of the median income of Salem city homeowner households, $92,653 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 62.8% of Salem city's occupied homes are lived in by their owners; renters pay property tax too, just folded into rent.

Have property taxes gone up in Salem city?

Yes. The median bill went from $1,901 in 2015-2019 to $2,316 in 2020-2024, a 21.8% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 42.2%, from $181,900 to $258,600. Bills rose more slowly than values, which is what assessment caps and falling millage rates do: the county is taxing a smaller share of each home's worth.

Two Census ACS 5-year periods with no survey years in common, in each period's own dollars. A change counts only if it exceeds the combined 90% margin of error.

Property tax in counties next to Salem city

Salem city borders 2 counties.

How is a home assessed in Salem city?

Virginia assesses homes at 100% of market value in every county, Salem city included. How Virginia assesses and reappraises homes.

Is there a homestead exemption in Salem city?

No. Virginia has no general homestead exemption; relief is limited to the elderly and disabled, disabled veterans, and surviving spouses of service members and first responders killed in the line of duty. That is the Virginia rule, and it applies in Salem city. Virginia's exemptions and relief programs in full.

On top of the Virginia programs, Salem city runs its own:

• Real Estate Tax Freeze for the Elderly and Disabled: For an owner aged 65 or older, or permanently and totally disabled, who lives in the home, with combined household income of no more than $65,000 and net worth of no more than $185,000 (not counting the home and up to one acre): the city freezes the real estate tax on the home and up to one acre at the amount owed in the year the owner first qualified, even as the assessment changes. It is not an exemption, it is run by the Commissioner of the Revenue, and a filing is required every year. Apply by August 31 (applications accepted July 1 to August 31).

How to appeal your Salem city property assessment

In Salem city you appeal to the City of Salem Board of Equalization (after a required first appeal to the Department of Real Estate Valuation). The deadline: Appeals to the Department of Real Estate Valuation run through the end of January, and appeals to the Board of Equalization are due in mid-February; the reassessment notice mailed in January gives the exact dates. For the 2026 reassessment the deadlines were January 30 and February 20, 2026. A further appeal goes to the Circuit Court. How to file. Checked September 23, 2026 against the official appeal rules.

How Virginia's appeal process works, including the next level if the first one turns you down.

Virginia rules from primary state sources, reviewed September 7, 2026; sources on the Virginia page.

Work out your own numbers

• How much house can I afford?

  Your income, debts and down payment against the 28/36 rule lenders actually use, with Salem city's tax rate to hand.

• Mortgage calculator

  Monthly payment with principal, interest, tax and insurance, plus what an extra payment saves you.

• Virginia income tax

  Brackets, standard deduction and what Virginia actually taxes.

• Sales tax in Salem city

  The other local tax: combined state and local rate for this county.